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Tag: PDP

  • More knocks for PDP over probe Fashola call

    A group, the Fasholamania Independent Support Movement (FISM), has criticised the call for a probe of Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola.

    It described the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Mr. Tunji Shelle, who made the call, as “an enemy of the state”.

    In a statement by its President, Mr. Olukayode Salako, FISM said Lagos PDP “has refused to see anything good in the Fashola administration because of its desperate desire to capture the state”.

    It accused Lagos PDP of deceiving Lagosians daily with “childish lies, baseless accusations and unintelligent propaganda”.

    The statement reads: “Whether Lagos PDP accepts it or not, the Fashola administration remains a benchmark for setting copious standards for good governance in Nigeria. Shelle and Lagos PDP have not governed any state before, so they may not really know the challenges of governing an over populated, complex and cosmopolitan environment like Lagos.

    “Any reasonable person who sees the quality of the state government’s projects will know that it costs money to build good and lasting infrastructure.

    “Lagos PDP is outside the government, so cannot easily determine the cost of projects and running an effective government. We urge Lagosians to beware of the baseless accusations of Lagos PDP and not be deceived into believing that it is a credible alternative in 2015. Lagos PDP is a factionalised party. It is not united. It is a party of crises.

    “If there is anybody who should call the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe any government for corruption, it should be Nigerians calling for the probe of many incumbent and past PDP governors, who did nothing tangible for their people. That alone is corruption.

    “The greatest mistake Lagosians can make in 2015 is to vote to return Lagos to the past. Lagos PDP would return Lagos to the past. Lagosians, be warned.

    “Instead of castigating Fashola, we urge the PDP to tell Lagosians how it can govern Lagos better than Fashola.”

  • Osun ACN raises alarm over PDP’s plan to rig 2014 election

    Osun ACN raises alarm over PDP’s plan to rig 2014 election

    RELYING on intelligence reports, the Osun State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday alleged of a plot by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the next year’s governorship election in the state.

    ACN’s Director of Publicity and Strategy Kunle Oyatomi, who raised the alarm, urged residents to remain at alert and be watchful to frustrate the “evil intention” of some unscrupulous elements,who are planning to plunge the state into crisis.

    Oyatomi said media reports on the arrest of a PDP female member in Ikirun, in Ifelodun Local Government Area, who was luring people to exchange their voter cards for Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) allocation papers and money, revealed the rigging plan of the PDP.

    The ACN spokesman said: “This is another strategy the PDP is working with, to rig next year’s governorship election in the state of Osun.

    “We in the ACN believe that what the PDP Chairman in Osun, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa was reported to have said in respect of this story is a confirmation of the fact that the PDP is not only manipulating SURE-P for patronage to party members, it is also attempting to graft the SURE-P into its rigging mechanism for 2014 and 2015 elections.”

    Oyatomi said that the PDP has distorted and bastardised the Federal Government’s employment and empowerment programme meant for all Nigerians by converting it into a monster prowling the country and using SURE-P to buy voter cards from unsuspecting citizens.

    He, therefore, warned the citizens not to surrender their political power by selling the cards to selfish and greedy people, especially the “PDP that brought the state to ruins between 2003 and 2010.”

    His words: “Your voter card is the ultimate power you have to reject bad government and install a new one through the ballot box; and this was what you did in 2007.

    “You should not sell that card for any reason whatsoever because selling it is selling yourself into slavery. Since the PDP has decided to turn SURE-P, into an election rigging apparatus, the PDP should accept the responsibility for the criminal action of people going about in the state buying Voter Cards in exchange for SURE-P papers and money.”

     

  • Kwara ACN, PDP quarrel over alleged defection

    •Opposion: stop your dance of shame
    •ACN downplaying our achievement, says govt

     

    The Kwara State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday disagreed over the report by the ruling party that 2,500 members of the opposition had defected to the state PDP.

    ACN chieftain, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), described as a show of shame and admission of failure the PDP’s and its government’s claims that the ACN members defected because “Belgore failed to give them employment”.

    Belgore, who has denied the defection story, asked whether it was the duty of the opposition to provide jobs for the people, or the government which controls the machinery of the state and is charged with welfare of the citizens. The government and the ruling PDP have repeatedly taunted the opposition on the defection, which the ACN insisted was another lie from the PDP and its government.

    Belgore, in a statement by his media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye, said: “Our initial reaction is that nothing, however shameful and debasing, is beyond a government now notorious for its lies and chicanery and whose every claim now faces integrity test even from little kids.”

    But Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed urged the state ACN to come up with viable alternatives to its policies instead of downplaying his administration’s achievements.

    In a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications Dr Muideen Akorede said: “For once, Belgore should suspend politicking and acknowledge the Ahmed administration’s triumphs, which are obvious to all but the embattled opposition.

    “These achievements include rural/urban road construction and rehabilitation, supply of laboratory equipment to schools, rehabilitation of basic and senior secondary school classrooms, rural and urban electrification, the remodelling of five general hospitals, provision of 220 boreholes and rehabilitation work on 13 waterworks, the on-going construction of a first-class International Vocational Centre and Engineering Complex at KWASU among others.

    “These strides are obvious to all but the ACN is daily haemorrhaging disillusioned members, who are then trooping en masse to the high-performing PDP.”

    Belgore said the celebrations of the alleged defection raised questions about the seriousness, competence and the thought of the initiators of such self-defeating claims.

    The statement reads: “We have been watching with amusement how the Kwara State Government, which claims to be performing and is popular, is wasting public funds in celebrating in the newspapers and on television the sponsored and contrived defection of some fictitious members of the opposition party.

    “They even went to the ridiculous extent of sponsoring a statement that Belgore (SAN) promised the defectors employment but has reneged on that promise and that was the reason for their defection…

    “Indeed, the celebration of the so-called defection is a pitiable show by the PDP-led government and it raises a number of questions. If the so-called defectors’ grouse is that they remain unemployed, contrary to a promise that had been made to them, how and from where do such unemployed people get funds to sponsor the so-called defection ceremony and the various television and newspaper coverage it has received?

    “Does this not suggest that they were sponsored? Certainly, the sponsorship would not have come from the party that they were defecting from. Whose responsibility is it – government or the opposition – to create jobs? Is it not only a shameless government that would be celebrating its own failure by saying someone else should have done what it is constitutionally charged to do?

    “If the opposition does not exist in Kwara, as the government has repeatedly stated over the years, where did the so-called defectors, numbering 2,500 from one single local council, come from?

    “Assuming even that there was in fact a real decampment, now that unemployment has been cited as the reason for it, what is the government doing to address that?

    “Is the government going to create or offer jobs to the alleged 2,500 unemployed defectors or improve their lot in any meaningful and sustainable way beyond the hand-outs it has given to them to create the false media show of the decampment?

    “The truth of the matter is that the PDP-led government in Kwara State has failed miserably and it continues to exhibit its failure and incompetence in embarrassing ways and this is one of such ways. Beyond the usual window-dressings and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signings with bogus entities like the so-called Vasolar Consortium about which nothing verifiable exists other than media publications from the MOU signing ceremony with KWSG, it has no meaningful achievement on record to date.

    “Rather, it is fond of making false claims on its performance, from blatantly lying that it has constructed over 600 kilometres of road in the state, the embarrassing falsehood/contradictory statements on the so-called Shonga award, to claims that it has employed thousands of youths and is sharing prosperity even when youth restiveness, armed robbery, rampant killings have hit a record high in the state while poverty now walks on all four in the state so much that people are queuing in front of the Government House to beg for foods and shelter!

    “Meanwhile, there are numerous allegations of financial scandals by the past and current PDP-led government being (or are yet to be) investigated; the list continues to grow by the day. The government should keep itself busy in improving the lives of the people and in running an open and clean government. It should stop chasing shadows and wasting public funds by bringing itself into further ridicule and odium by self-defeating and embarrassing media displays.”

  • Jonathan under fire over Amaechi, Baga massacre

    Jonathan under fire over Amaechi, Baga massacre

    The Presidency and the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) came to blows again yesterday on the state of the nation.

    The ACN said Nigeria is “descending into despotism” with the manner the President is running its affairs.

    Besides, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) lashed out at Dr. Jonathan for not visiting Baga, the Borno State border town where many were killed when troops clashed with Boko Haram fighters.

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said Dr. Jonathan was turning “from a democratically-elected President to an empror – a despot.”

    The party alleged that national institutions had been “bastardised and compromised just to get at a political enemy in an open quarrel with Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi”.

    But presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, in a statement last night, denied it all.

    He said President Jonathan “is a democratically-elected leader who is running a people-oriented, inclusive and progressive government”.

    He added that rather than despotism, under the President’s watch, “Nigeria’s democracy has been consolidated; the scope for human freedoms has been further expanded and there is respect for due process and the rule of law”.

    Besides the “personal battle”; the President is fighting against the Rivers State government, the ACN recalled that the government attacked former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwezili and the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Yushau Shuaib, for raising issues on the state of the polity.

    In the statement, Mohammed said: ‘’The Jonathan Administration is anchored on a Transformation Agenda. But the only transformation that we can see is the one from a democratically-elected President to an Emperor, a despot.

    ‘’If the President is not prevailed upon to change course, Nigeria may be in for another season of anomie, reminiscent of the days of the maximum ruler who took the country to the brink before his sudden demise,’’ it said, adding: “The way President Jonathan is handling his political disagreement with a member of his party, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, has portrayed him as a leader who is willing to jettison democratic ideals and principles on the altar of personal ambition.”

    The party wondered why national institutions have to be “bastardized” and “compromised” just to get at a political enemy, specifically citing the role being played by the Ministry of Aviation, its parastatals, such as the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police, among others, in the Presidency’s clash with Amaechi.

    ‘’Like we said before, we are not perturbed by what is happening in the PDP. Our main concern is the fact that the party’s internal crisis is overheating the polity and threatening the country’s hard-won democracy. After the theatrics of the aviation agencies and their parent ministry, the EFCC has suddenly realised that the cost of the Rivers State’s plane was inflated by US$10 million while the police have sacked the secretariat of Obio-Akpo Local Government in Rivers. The question is: Who gave the orders for the police to sack the secretariat, and in the process take sides with the President in the political disagreement with the governor?

    ‘’Which are the other national institutions that will be drafted into this scorched-earth campaign against a perceived non-conformist party member? If the President can go to this length against his own party man, what will he do against the opposition? Why is it that a democratically-elected President cannot be challenged by anyone, whether or not he is a member of his party?’’ it queried.

    ‘’Also, the ferocity with which the Jonathan Administration went after a former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, for claiming that President Jonathan frittered away the 67 billion dollars in foreign reserves which she said President Olusegun Obasanjo left behind in 2007; and the fate that befell NEMA spokesman Yushau Shuaib for daring to criticise the lopsided appointments in parastatals under the Ministry of Finance, are glaring actions of an administration that is bent on stifling Freedom of Expression.

    ‘’These anti-democratic measures will worsen as the 2015 elections approach. Therefore, all lovers of democracy must join us in speaking out against the Jonathan Administration’s descent into despotism. This is the only way to prevent a President’s desperation for power from torpedoing our country’s democracy. After all, a critical benchmark of a democratic society is the existence of a vibrant, free and independent media that will give the citizenry a platform to freely and vigorously debate current issues,’’ the party said.

    The ACN also expressed concerns at the growing propensity of the administration to stifle the freedom of expression and freedom of the press, citing the report by the media rights group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on the occasion of this year’s World Press Freedom Day on May 3, as a global testimony to the worsening press freedom record of the administration.

    ‘’According to the CPJ, Nigeria has become one of the worst countries in the world for deadly, unpunished violence against the press. Nigeria and Somalia are also the only African nations listed on the CPJ’s 2013 impunity ranking. Yet, the government has not relented in its attacks against the media: Gestapo-style arrest of Leadership journalists; Fines slammed on Liberty Radio in Kaduna over a listener’s opinion on the so-called Good Governance Tour; Arrest of two journalists of the Kaduna-based Al Mizan newspaper and the ban on a documentary on poverty in Nigeria, just to mention but a few.

  • Jonathan, PDP and 2015

    Jonathan, PDP and 2015

    Since the coming of President Goodluck Jonathan to power, most of his programmes and policies have engendered the anger of most Nigerians. This would not augur well for his party come next election in 2015.

    Starting with controversial fuel price increase in early part of 2011 and subsequent polices, his policies have been received with mixed feelings amongst the populace, most notably the recent state pardon granted his former boss, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, D.S.P.Alamieyesegha.

    Also, the ‘civil war’ going on within the party has polarised it along different interest groups which could send it to the oblivion. Nigerians who have to tolerate the party for this long have not seen any good from the party which considers itself the largest party in Africa.

    The President has not been given Nigerians the kind of leadership required. The citizens are very sceptical about government programmes and policies.

    We hope that as Nigerians look up to meeting the reality of good governance in 2015, they will not be denied this rare opportunity.

     

    Bala Nayashi

    Lokoja, Kogi State.

  • Funsho Williams

    Funsho Williams

    • It is sad that solution to murder riddle is still not in sight, six years after

    Six years after the high-profile murder of Mr. Funsho Williams, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Lagos State, there are perturbing signs that a solution is not in sight to the riddle. Rather, developments in the trial of the suspects held for the crime have introduced counter-productive complications. Williams, an engineer and a hopeful in the political campaign leading to the 2007 governorship election in Lagos, was stabbed to death in mysterious circumstances on July 27, 2006, at his residence, 34A, Corporation Drive, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The news of the damage to crucial exhibits in the case provided by the pathologist who conducted a post-mortem on the victim sounds unbelievably absurd. A prosecution witness, Ovie Oyokomino, a deputy commissioner of police in charge of forensics at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, reportedly told Justice Adeniyi Adebajo of a Lagos High Court, Igbosere : “The perishable evidence such as blood samples as well as the vitreous humour of the eye went bad due to interrupted power supply in the course of refrigerating.”

    This is inexcusable, and betrays a lack of seriousness on the part of the investigators. Given the gravity of the crime, it was expected that the force would take adequate measures to prevent the loss of such vital evidence, including the employment of a generator where necessary. It goes without saying that power failure, blamed for the destruction of proof, regrettably mirrors the country’s infrastructural inadequacies. Also, the nature of the evidence, described as “perishable”, ought to have prompted an expeditious approach to the investigation.

    Another major setback in the case is the alleged inconclusive DNA analysis carried out on blood samples from the six male suspects arraigned before Justice Adebajo in March. During a court hearing this week, the prosecuting counsel, Mrs. O.A. Akin-Adesomoju, made a request that is likely to further delay the conclusion of the case. She sought a court order to collect fresh DNA samples from the suspects in order to determine whether they matched blood stains found on a shirt at the crime scene. Intriguingly, she argued that another round of tests was required to confirm the culpability or innocence of the suspects. It is quite disappointing that this homicide matter is still at an early stage, to go by the prosecution’s position.

    There is a puzzling tardiness in the investigation. It is noteworthy that the suspects, three of whom are policemen – Bulama Kolo, Musa Maina, David Cassidy, Tunani Sonani, Mustapha Kayode and Okponwasa Imariable – standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder, have been in detention for some years, yet the case against them has not even been established. Interestingly, by way of defence, the prosecution supplied information meant to clarify why fresh blood samples could not be obtained earlier, stating that the High Court judge who granted the request at the time died without signing the order she made. It is not clear how and when this happened, but the reality is that the case has not progressed to the important stage of establishing the criminal involvement of the suspects.

    It is certainly laudable that efforts are ongoing to solve the Williams’ murder, particularly against the background of several unresolved high-profile murders across the country. But the suspects deserve to be treated fairly, for they are theoretically innocent until their guilt is established beyond doubt in a court of law. The longer it takes to justify their detention, the longer they will suffer, perhaps baselessly.

    There is no doubt that the prosecution’s argument for fresh blood tests, if it succeeds, will lead to yet another wait for results while the accused remain caged. However, since it is obvious that this evidence will be helpful in proving their guilt or innocence, a new round of tests would be in their best interest, if they are not blameworthy. In the final analysis, it is desirable to expedite the investigative process and ensure that justice is done.

  • Amaechi and PDP’s fad for private jets

    Amaechi and PDP’s fad for private jets

    Owning private jets have become a fad among PDP governors who have access to free state money and their rich friends in the oil and financial sectors. The only thing that has changed in the 13 years of PDP administration is our new status as the third or fourth nation with highest number of private jet owners in the world. Our record as a nation where about 80% of the citizens live below two dollars a day remains unchanged.

    The curious thing however is that neither the presidency, said to control between 9 and 11 aircrafts in its presidential fleet, nor government body such as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been able to tell us the exact number of private jets owned or operating in Nigeria.

    Forbes publication for instance claims the figure of privately owned jets jumped from 20 in 2007 to 150 in 2012. The Guardian, on its part, quoting a top official of the NCAA claims that the ‘ownership of the state-of-the-art jets in Nigeria had grown to over 200 in 2012 from 50 in 2008’. The figures of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, (NIESV), a body that insisted it is trained to assess properties, agrees with that of The Guardian.

    But as far as the NCAA is concerned, there are only 10 private jets registered in Nigeria. According to Sam Adurogboye, the body’s spokesperson, all others including the Canadian-made Bombardier jet with US registration number N431CB, a gift to Ayo Oritsejafor, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), are not owned by Nigerians because ‘they carry foreign registration credentials rather than Nigerian registration’.

    The only fact not in dispute however is the claim by Bombardier, the

    Canadian aircraft manufacturer that Nigeria ranks behind the United States, United Kingdom, and China among countries that top their orders for the supply of its aircraft type.

    Tragically, the concern of ACN that has been behaving like a mourner who weep louder than the bereaved has been to defend Rotimi Amaechi.

    First we are told, as if we didn’t know, that the grounding of his private aircraft by NCAA was “a glaring case of political witch-hunt”. Amaechi as a PDP star does not need Lai Mohammed or any outsider to tell him the consequences of anyone crossing the path of President Jonathan.

    Amaechi as a veteran of many PDP family wars, starting with Obasanjo who insisted he was then not a PDP material for governorship, the verbal battle with inpatient Patience Jonathan over his demolition of houses for schools in Okirika, the Rivers and Bayelsa battle over disputed oil fields, and the ongoing battle of wits between him and the presidency over the chairmanship of the governor’s forum, knows his enemies.

    Those who are setting him up against an unforgiving President Jonathan by attempting to sell his record of performance in power generation, infrastructural development and security in his state are only going to increase Amaechi’s nightmare. Such achievements count for very little among PDP leaders where ex-PDP governors who stole their states blind moved on to become senators, member of kitchen cabinet of a new president or received state pardon after an indictment by the judiciary.

    In any case, Ahmed Gulak, the president’s adviser on political matters has summarised the PDP government position on one of its stars: “If you are a governor and you are flying a private jet, you must do it within the extant laws. There are laws governing the usage of private jets in this country and the world over and because you are a governor does not give you the license to flout the laws governing your country”.

    I don’t think anyone should pick a quarrel with the presidency for saying ‘no governor is above the law’. Jonathan has after all, not said PDP governors and individuals including obstructive journalists cannot fly their private jets. I think it would have been more helpful if ACN had merely appealed to the presidency and PDP to live by their precepts.

    But I think the Amaechi case has thrown up a more fundamental issue that should be of concern to Nigerians. This is why those defending him should look beyond personality and focus on what has become a national malaise. It is bad enough we have some Nigerians who acquired their private jets by exploiting government weak institutions, some ‘self proclaiming’ prosperity prophets who buy theirs through exploitation of fears of their congregation and through sales of grace to fraudsters, but it is a national embarrassment when there is no one to call to order our elected political leaders who junket around the nation while those they were elected to serve wallow in poverty.

    It is therefore a disservice to the nation for anyone attempting to separate Amaechi, a man who in spite of his disagreement with his PDP family shares the same PDP predilection of freely spending the taxpayer’s money as if they are answerable to none.

    It is on record that Rivers State owns an AW139 helicopter, which it leased to a commercial airliner. It is also on record that Rivers State sold its Embraer Legacy 600, claiming it was too expensive to maintain. It has also been said that Rivers State government last year sold its Dash 8-Q200 aircraft to Cross River State for $6 million which the later then leased to Aero Contractors to undertake commercial flights to and from Obudu airstrip. It was also reported by the authoritative Guardian on October 7, 2012 that Amaechi acquired a brand new Bombardier Global 5000 (N565RS) from Bombardier Canada for $45.7 million (N7.3 Billion) through the Bank of Utah Trustee account.

    Defenders of Governor Amaechi should tell Nigerians what the poor people of Rivers State who coughed out N7.3b benefited from his last flight to Akure before being caught up in PDP family war often fought over sharing of posts and spoils of office. Perhaps they should also tell us the immediate benefits of the poor people of Taraba where Suntai Danbaba’s near suicide left five other Nigerians dead. The flight that led to the crash of a Nigeria Navy executive Augusta 109E helicopter, which killed Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, former NSA Andrew Owoye Azazi and four others, was not undertaken to better the lives of the poor who live on polluted waters of the Niger creeks or the people of Kaduna confronted at all times by religious and political strife arising from economic deprivations. Like Amaechi’s last flight in his state-of-the-art jet, it was undertaken to join presidential aide Oronto Douglas, a mere presidential aide who was burying his father. It is an embarrassment that while leaders of advanced economies use commercial flights for their official engagements, huge resources needed for development are tied up by PDP stars like Amaechi, Danbaba and their tribe joined by even fraudsters who clog our air space with private jets. Our greatest tragedy is that we have no leadership that can call them to order by leading by example.

    In this regard, a cursory survey of the list of private jet owners as published by the authoritative Forbes will show very clearly that PDP has failed our nation. We have on the list some indicted by the House committee probe on privatization The report which recommended that some privatized firms fraudulently bought by these con men be returned to the state was buried by PDP and the presidency. On the list also are some of those involved in fuel importation scam that in a sane society should be in jail Both the Farouk and Ribadu committee recommendations were rubbished The favoured Aig Imokhuede’s report has been sabotaged by the presidency, PDP and the judiciary. And featured prominently on the list are also some merchants of ‘grace for sale’ patronized by fuel and financial fraudsters.

     

  • Tukur’s resignation rumour unsettles PDP

    Tukur’s resignation rumour unsettles PDP

    A ‘SUDDEN’ directive from the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has created anxiety amongst members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the staff at the party’s national headquarters, Abuja.

    Tukur told his aides to take an inventory, of all party items in his office.

    To some of his aides, the inventory which began about 48 hours ago, is “suspicious”.

    It could not be immediately ascertained whether Tukur has decided to resign or not, following the speculation that some members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) were pushing for his exit – “for true reconciliation in the party”.

    Tukur asked some of his aides on Sunday to take an “inventory of all items” in his three offices.

    The PDP national chair has offices at the party’s National Secretariat, the Legacy House, which serves as the Presidential Campaign Office for the ruling party and his residence in Wuse.

    Tukur was said to have personally supervised the inventory before leaving for Lagos en route Canada yesterday.

    One of the aides said: “We had no inkling of any challenge, but the chairman directed us to immediately take an inventory of all items in his three offices.

    “Some of us tried to find out if anything was amiss but no one told us why an inventory of items became necessary at this particular period.

    “What made us curious is that he did not bother about inventory of items when he assumed the leadership of the party.

    “We complied with the directive before the national chairman left for Canada this afternoon via Lagos. He took a chartered flight to Lagos.”

    Another source alleged there had been a frosty relationship between the presidency and Tukur in the last one week.

    The source said: “From reports available, the PDP national chairman was at the Villa on Thursday to see the leader of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan, but he did not see him.

    “Tukur ought to have proceeded on the Canada trip on Sunday but it was delayed because there was no clearance from the Presidency until yesterday.

    “So, no one could say whether the inventory was a routine thing or in preparation for resignation on personal grounds.”

    Another source said: “For quite sometime, some members of the Board of Trustees and party stalwarts have been uncomfortable with Tukur as the National Chairman of PDP because his tenure has left the party divided.

    “They cited some instances, like the conflict between Tukur and the sacked National Secretary of the party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; the crisis of confidence within the National Working Committee; the Ogun State PDP crisis which has caused a feud between President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; and the Adamawa crisis.

    “Some BOT members and party leaders have impressed it on Jonathan that Tukur cannot lead PDP to victory in 2015. As a matter of fact, some governors have said that they cannot work with Tukur.

    “When Tukur’s reconciliation tour failed, the BoT embarked on a similar exercise which recorded ‘modest’ success.”

    PDP National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh said: “I am not aware that the national chairman is taking an inventory of items in his office. His office is locked.

    “I am also not aware of any resignation. NWC members are unaware. Why will he resign? What for? I was with him today before he travelled out, he did not tell me anything.”

    But an aide to Tukur dispelled the resignation.

    A statement by his Special Assistant on Special Duties, Dr. A .Y. Ahmad said Tukur was on a national assignment to Canada on the invitation of the Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Chief Ojo Madueke.

    Ahmad added that the party chair left Nigeria in peace with nothing whatsoever to lend credence to any rumour about his resignation.

    The statement reads: “The speculation is part of the machinations of some faceless, treacherous and wicked individuals who are aiming to profit from misleading innocent members of the party and Nigerians in general for no sane reason.

    “The national chairman is a national and an international figure. He has been working hard to ensure the re-positioning of PDP for future challenges and so had no plan to resign as being suggested by some sworn enemies of the party.”

  • 2015: PDP woos Afenifere

    2015: PDP woos Afenifere

    Prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Peoples Party (PDP) in the Southwest are teaming up with the polarised pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, to fight for power in the zone. Currently, the region is the stronghold of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    There are two groups struggling for the soul of the organisation. The first group is led by the former Commissioner for Finance in Ondo State, Chief Rueben Fasoranti. The second is led by the deputy leader, Senator Ayo Fasanmi. Reconciliation broke down between the two camps, almost four years ago. Although the representatives of the factions were brought to the reconciliation table at Ibadan, Oyo State capital, by the younger elements who have formed the Afenifere Renewal group (ARG), they could not achieve a truce. Also, efforts to reconcile them by the wife of the late sage, Mrs. HID Awolowo, failed.

    At the recent meeting of the faction led by Fasoranti in Lagos, many PDP chieftains were in attendance, although the key leaders; Chiefs Fasoranti, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Olu Falae, Oladipo Olaitan, and Supo Sonibare, are progressives and critics of the PDP-led Federal Government.

    At the Lagos meeting were Senator Iyiola Omisore, Alhaji Rahman Owokoniran, Hon. Segun Ojo, Mr. Kayode Alufa, Chief Ladosu Ladapo, Akogun Tunde Odanye and Mr. Jimi Agbaje, who is being wooed by the Lagos PDP to contest the next governorship on its platform. A source said that the Fasoranti’s group enjoys the backing of the Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who has secured a second term. Between 1999 and 2003, Afenifere did not open its door to the chieftains of the PDP, which they perceived as a conservative party.

    However, the members of the Fasanmi’s group belong to the ACN, which is in the merger process with the All Nigeria Peoples Party (PDP), the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) and a section of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Prominent members of the faction include Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Chief Bisi Akande, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, Alhaji Olatunji Hamzat, Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, Otunba Busura Alebiosu, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, and Hon. Odunsi. In fact, all the ACN chieftains in the Southwest identify with the Fasanmi’s group. Currently, the members of Fasanmi camp are in the government in the region.

    In 2007, the Afenifere leaders in Fasoranti’s group supported the PDP governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. In 2011, they also supported Daniel’s candidate for the governorship, Mr. Gboyega Isiaka. It was a wide departure from 2003, when the former secretary of the group, Mr. Ayo Opadokun, was criticised for fraternity with former ANPP Governor Mohammed Lawal of Kwara State. Last year, they also supported Governor Mimiko’s re-election bid.

    Southwest PDP members are courting Afenifere at a time the party is becoming increasingly unpopular in the zone. But the source said that the party is ready to pump money into the mobilisation against the ACN. “The fund for the election is not going to be a problem. The PDP Federal Government is showing a special interest in the zone. PDP wants to adopt two strategies. The first is to get aggrieved, credible and popular candidates to run for the governorship elections in the region and get Afenifere to back them on the platform of the PDP. That is why both Chief Bode George and Prince Adeseye Ogunlewe are now on the neck of Agbaje. At every election, Afenifere usually supports candidates and political parties.

    “The second strategy is to encourage other parties outside ACN to compete with the ACN in the zone. It is worthy of note that, after securing the pipeline monitoring contract from the Federal Government, some Southwest leaders started talking about the resuscitation of the UPN. They are not happy with the soaring profile of Tinubu and they want to get their pound of fresh from Osoba”, added the source.

    The group’s posturing has affected its image among the people of the Southwest. Unlike the pre-2003 period, Afenifere is perceived as a toothless bulldog, which can only bark but not bite. In fact, in 2003, the group supported the four AD governors; the late Adebayo Adefarati (Ondo), the late Lam Adesina (Oyo), Akande (Osun), and Osoba (Ogun). They lost to their PDP challengers; Dr. Olusegun Agaggu, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Otunba Daniel. The lone survivor, Tinubu, was deserted by the Afenifere chieftains, following the rejection of the 60:40 formula for the distribution of the appointive and elective offices in Lagos State. He handed over to Governor Babatunde Fashola in 2007. Also, in 2007, Tinubu spearheaded the struggle for the liberation of the Southwest from the PDP. Today, five out of the six states are governed by the ACN governors.

    Recently, ARG leader Hon. Olawale Oshun had alerted the region to the antics of certain forces bent on encouraging the emergence of new parties to create confusion in the zone. He said those behind the idea were working assiduously with the PDP, which has the intention of re-capturing the Southwest in 2015. A sources said that the PDP chieftains are exploiting the division in the Afenifere to penetrate into the fold and swing the support of the Fasoranti camp to the PDP candidates in the next elections.

    Falae ruled out any alliance with the PDP, although he agreed that PDP members can now take their seats in the group. This admission flexibility contrasted sharply with the picture of Afenifere between 1999 and 2002. For example, members of the group rationalised that the presence of Omisore at the Afenifere meeting was not strange. “He has been a member, but dormant for some time. He only left AD, not Afenifere”, said a chieftain.

     

     

  • PDP accused of recruiting thugs as students

    PDP accused of recruiting thugs as students

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has raised the alarm on plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to recruit thugs who he said would pose as students to protest delayed payment of bursary and scholarship.

    Oshiomhole said the “students” held a clandestine meeting at the Student Union Government (SUG) building, University of Benin and threatened to mobilise other “students” to protest after a seven-day ultimatum to the government expires.

    The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Peter Okhiria, said the payment of bursary was not a “birthright” as the “students” claim.

    He said it was not compulsive on a state as there are several states, which do not pay.

    Oshiomhole warned that his administration was aware of those behind the move, adding that they were under surveillance by security agencies.

    The governor said security agencies were on the alert to deal with anyone or group, which tries to foment trouble under the guise of bursary awards and scholarships.

    PDP Publicity Secretary Matthew Urhoghide described the allegations as a ruse, saying the students were not card-carrying members of the party.